The excellence of Maricel is reflected in an exhibition on the occasion of its centenary

The Maricel Centenary exhibition, which presents the Maricel Museum, shows the process of building one of the most outstanding and relevant architectural works of the Noucentisme culminated one hundred years ago: the Maricel ensemble. The ensemble became one of the Catalan cultural icons, Maricel hosted an extraordinary collection of art gathered by Charles Deering, from which thirty pieces are now shown. The exhibition, which can be seen until February 24, illustrates the central body of the commemoration carried out throughout the year by Museums of Sitges and integrated in the chapter of official commemorations of the Generalitat of Catalonia. Maricel Centenary (1918 - 2018) has as curators Ignasi Domènech - collection of Museums of Sitges - and Sebastià Sánchez Sauleda, authors of different works on Maricel. The exhibition will be inaugurated, today Thursday, November 15, by the President of the Generalitat, Quim Torra.

The Maricel Centenary Exhibition (1918 - 2018) presents 113 works, including paintings, drawings, photographs, tiles, plans and models, which allow contextualising the crucial importance of this extraordinary work promoted by the industrialist Charles Deering (1852-1927) and directed by the engineer, painter, poster artist and art critic Miquel Utrillo (1862-1934), as well as the outstanding Hispanic art collection present during early years. The exhibition contains thirty works that had been part of the Charles Deering collection, which he later moved to the United States. He also presents two unpublished paintings by Ramon Casas.

The exhibition provides a detailed view of the project conceived by Utrillo to satisfy Deering's wishes. Utrillo's initiative consisted in transforming the old hospital of Sant Joan Baptista, built in the 14th century, the house between the hospital and the Cau Ferrat (Can Xicarrons) and several houses on both sides of the street of Fonollar in a magnificent architectural ensemble that had to perform the functions of residence (Maricel de Mar) and a space to house the art collections of the American industrialist, which would later become the Maricel Palace.

Maricel Centenary (1918 - 2018) offers a complete portrait of Charles Deering and explains the reasons that led him to build the Maricel ensemble, while providing an overview of the importance of his collection, consisting of medieval altarpieces and works by artists such as El Greco, Goya, Zurbarán, Murillo, Meifrèn and the most recent works of Casas, Rusiñol or Zuloaga. The exhibition vindicates the ambitious Deering and Utrillo project, which, years after the moments of maximum splendor of the Cau Ferrat of Santiago Rusiñol, once again placed Sitges as a reference in the world of culture and art. Maricel became a point of reference in the cultural circuits of the country - which came to Sitges to admire the result of the work - and one of the credentials to present the excellence represented by Noucentisme. The outstanding collection of Hispanic art gathered by Charles Deering contributed to convert Maricel into a focus of art of first level and with international importance 

The works in the exhibition
The exhibition presents some thirty works from what was the Deering Collection, which returns to Sitges on the occasion of the exhibition and which embrace from the Middle Ages to Modern Art from the beginning of the 20th century. The exhibition features works by Ramon Casas, Antoni Viladomat, Hermen Anglada-Camarasa, Josep Clarà, Gustau Violet, Joaquim Sunyer, Enric Galwey, Jacques Mathey, Antoni de Ferrater, three medieval altarpieces and a Virgin of the last third of the 14th century.

Casas is the most represented artist, with eighteen oils and drawings, including two unpublished paintings: Maricel’s lookout (without documented data) and Female Portrait (1904-05), both from private collections.

The works that make up the exhibition come from various public and private collections, such as the Carmen Thyssen Museum in Malaga, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Museum of Modernism in Barcelona, ​​the Library of Catalonia, the Ametller Institute of Hispanic Art, the Diocesan and Regional Museum of Lleida, the Museum of Valencia or the Museum of Reus, among others. The exhibition also features unpublished photographs from the Deering Estate (Miami). In addition, there is also an excellent sample of documents from the Santiago Rusiñol Library, the Historical Archive of Sitges and the Sitges Heritage Consortium. There are also pieces borrowed from private collections such as the collections of Artur Ramon and Lluís Bassat.

Take the guided tour to exhibiton ‘Centenari Maricel (1918-2018)’

Take the guided tour ‘A walk through the Charles Deering’s Maricel’